Funder: National Science Foundation
Due Dates: October 29, 2024 (Category I) | June 24, 2025 (Category II)
Funding Amounts: Category I: $10M–$20M per award (up to 5 years) | Category II: up to $5M per award (up to 5 years)
Summary: Supports organizations to provide advanced cyberinfrastructure resources and services for computation, data analysis, and AI research across all science and engineering fields, with a focus on democratized and equitable access.
Key Information: Strict limits: one proposal per organization and per PI/co-PI per competition; user support/operating costs not included in proposal budget.
Description
This opportunity from the National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks proposals from organizations to serve as resource providers within the Advanced Computing Systems and Services (ACSS) program. The goal is to provision advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) resources—both systems and services—to support the full spectrum of computational, data-analytic, and AI-driven research in science and engineering (S&E). The program emphasizes democratized, equitable access and aims to broaden participation among underrepresented groups and institutions.
Two categories of resources are supported:
- Category I: Capacity Resources — Large-scale, production computational resources to maximize capacity for S&E research.
- Category II: Innovative Prototypes/Testbeds — Forward-looking, experimental systems or services deploying novel technologies, architectures, or usage modes.
At least 90% of the provisioned resources must be made available to the S&E community through an open, peer-reviewed national allocation process, coordinated via NSF’s ACCESS program, the National AI Research Resource, or an NSF-approved alternative.
Due Dates
- Category I (Capacity Resources): October 29, 2024
- Category II (Innovative Prototypes/Testbeds): June 24, 2025
Only one category is open per deadline; proposals for the other category will not be considered during that cycle.
Funding Amount
- Category I: $10,000,000 to $20,000,000 per award, for up to 5 years. 1–3 awards anticipated per cycle.
- Category II: Up to $5,000,000 per award, for up to 5 years. 1–4 awards anticipated per cycle.
- Total program funding: Estimated at $60,000,000 (subject to availability).
- User support and operating costs: Up to 15% of the total resource acquisition cost per year, funded via supplement (not included in proposal budget).
Eligibility
- Who may apply:
- U.S. Institutions of Higher Education (2- and 4-year, including community colleges)
- Non-profit, non-academic organizations (e.g., independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies)
- Other federal agencies and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) (must contact NSF before applying)
- PI/Co-PI restrictions: No individual may be PI or co-PI on more than one proposal per competition.
- Organizational limit: One proposal per organization per competition (but may participate as subawardee on others).
- Collaborative projects: Must be submitted as a single proposal with subawards.
Application Process
- Submission platforms: Research.gov or Grants.gov
- Letters of Intent/Preliminary Proposals: Not required.
- Full proposal requirements: Follow the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and the solicitation-specific instructions.
- Proposal structure: Must include detailed sections on resource specification, S&E application performance, reliability/usability, project management/risk mitigation, security, concept of operations, and broader impacts.
- Budget: Do not include user support or operating costs in the main budget; provide a separate analysis in supplementary documents.
- Review criteria: Standard NSF intellectual merit and broader impacts, plus solicitation-specific criteria.
Additional Information
- Resource availability: At least 90% of resources must be allocated via open, peer-reviewed national processes.
- Broader impacts: Strongly encouraged to address broadening participation and access for underrepresented communities and institutions.
- EPSCoR: Submissions from or partnerships with EPSCoR-eligible institutions and those without prior ACSS awards are encouraged.
- Operating costs: If projected annual operating costs exceed 15% of acquisition cost, discuss with NSF Program Officer before submission.
- Award type: Cooperative Agreement.
External Links
Contact Information
For general NSF information: NSF Contact Page